Connaughton finishes second at Osaka Grand Prix

OSAKA, Japan — Islander Jared Connaughton earned the most impressive result of his senior athletics career Saturday, finishing second in the 200 metres at the Osaka Grand Prix.

The New Haven native, who reached the semifinals at the distance in the Beijing Olympics, crossed the line in 20.61 seconds. The 24-year-old trailed only Michael Rodgers of the United States, whose time was 20.55. Japan’s Shinji Tahahira was third.

The amazing part of Connaughton's placing was that he ran out of rarely ran Lane 9, which is a definite disadvantage compared to the rest of field.

Connaughton has not finished lower than second in any of individual races in this young 2010 season.

On the women’s side, Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont., finished third in the 100 metre hurdles with a time of 13.03. Ginnie Powell of the U.S. won in in 12:76.